Being the green dot

Seth Godin blogged about "Red Zones" here on his blog, Seth's Blog. 

The piece talks about learning curves, time, effort, motivation,passion and support.  He has visuals showing the red zone ("the gap between initial hassle and initial joy" in learning something new) and just ahead of the red zone (on the proverbial "other side"), is the green dot.

The green dot represents the person cheering the learner on, encouraging and enticing with "stories of how great it is on the other side".

My work as a homeschooler, as I see it, is all about being the green dot for my kids.  One of the beauties of homeschooling is how it is such a natural extension of my parenting anyway.  I think being a parent is about being the green dot for one's kids.  I think being a person is about being the green dot for those around you, in any given moment.

The way I am with my kids (my teaching style, I suppose) would probably be described by many as laid back.  "School-at-home" (the predominant method of homeschoolers and what almost all non-homeschoolers automatically think that homeschoolers are doing when they hear you are homeschooling) has not been a good fit for us (a better one for them and their dad) and I have operated largely on trusting that 1) they know what they are interested in/how they want to spend their time; and 2) they will learn everything they will ever need to know when they need to.

Sometimes, I wonder about my visibility as a green dot.  My own process is so internal, and, as an introvert, I am not invested in selling myself or my point of view to others through casual conversation.  Ultimately, I am not much concerned with what others think about me, so this is not an issue.  This process of self-understanding has taken time and been well worth it.

But, what about the kids? 

I'm not talking about the very normal every now and again self-doubt that creeps in.  We, here in the U.S., live in a culture of measurability and accountability and as homeschoolers who don't use pre-packaged curriculum complete with norm-measured assessments, it is very common to experience questions of "how am I doing?" and/or "how are they doing?"  This is not what I am grappling with at the moment (see "my teaching style", above).

I'm talking about being there for my kids and making adjustments as they grow.  (Again, this is something we all have to do as parents, homeschooling is simply an aspect of this.)  Being a green dot for a 4 year old is going to look, sound and feel different than being a green dot for that same 7 year old...or 10 year old...or, you get the picture.

Gem turned 10 in June, Sag will turn 9 in November.  (I put much more weight on the kids' developmental patterns and shifts than I do on their ages, but stating their ages here can more easily serve as a starting off point of understanding for the reader.)  As my thoughts turn to "school" (I have a strong seasonal association when September rolls around, delightfully ironic, really :-) and I think about my boys and what I've been seeing in and about them, I realize that I need to do some housekeeping around my green dot self.

Honestly, it feels like I am facing a different sort of challenge.  I need to dig a little deeper.  I need to read.  It would seem 'normal' to create more of a school-y curriculum to "teach Math" or "teach Science".  But, for me, the trick will be to figure out how to model and teach a more advanced and developmentally appropriate way to approach learning: studying, researching, accessing information, ascertaining/proving the validity of information, applying, generalizing, reporting, analyzing, sharing, etc.

I need a green dot myself :-)  (That's where reading comes in handy.)